Communities have more say in public employee benefits

Some districts exclude public from hearing negotiation

Mar. 15, 2012

Written by

Gannett Wisconsin Media

New state laws make it easier for the community to have a say in the benefits school districts intend to extend to workers, from the amount of sick pay teachers receive to the hours they are expected to teach and the number of students who will be in a classroom.

Wisconsin lawmakers last summer eliminated most collective bargaining powers for many public workers, which means employment issues previously debated behind closed doors now must be discussed in open session.

Local school boards generally are complying as they create employee handbooks to replace negotiated contracts.

Gannett Wisconsin Media examined changes to the collective bargaining law and the resulting increased transparency in negotiations as part of Sunshine Week, an effort to spotlight freedom of information and public access to government records.

"We tell people who call that it's nuanced whether you work in an open or closed session," said Bob Butler, assistant executive director and staff counsel for the Wisconsin School Board Association.

In general, these employment issues now are considered policy and should be discussed in closed session only if they involve a specific worker or base wages. Those issues can be negotiated in closed session under state law if education associations — or unions — have recertified.

In the case of base wages, the meetings must start in open session, and either party can ask to close the meeting, he said.

As for other cases, it depends on their nature, Butler said.

"We tell people that it depends on the discussion," he said. "If they're discussing retirement benefits for everyone, it should be done in open session. If they're discussing retirement benefits for employee Jane Doe, it should be done in closed."

Fox Cities schools take up handbooks

Neenah Joint School District officials approved its employee handbook for teachers last year and is now in the process of developing four other staff handbooks, said district administrator Mary Pfeiffer. The goal of the school district, which employs about 660 people, will be to develop one staff handbook that applies to every employee.

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The discussions while developing the teacher handbooks took place in public. Proposals were made at open meetings with the school board because closed-door meetings were no longer an option, Pfeiffer said.

"Our approach last year was to come up with what we thought would be a fair approach for our staff, and then we met with the leadership of the teachers union," she said. "Then we presented that to the teaching staff as a whole."

The Appleton Area School District is in the process of developing a handbook for its 1,525 employees. The district unveiled a new employee benefits plan during the March 6 Board of Education meeting that would raise health care deductibles. It also is considering a salary freeze to make up for a projected deficit just shy of $2 million.

Meanwhile, the school board's Personnel Services Committee is working to update district policies on how to fill open teaching positions internally after seniority was removed as a determining factor.

Other districts have yet to make changes that would affect workers. Kaukauna, which employs about 400 people, has had an employee handbook in place since July 2011, said Robert Schafer, director of business services for the district. Any changes to the handbooks would be made in open meetings, he said.

School districts and teachers unions generally signed one- or two-year contracts last year. Those with one-year contracts typically are creating policies to cover items that formerly were included in negotiated agreements.

Green Bay newspaper challenges closed session

The Green Bay School District and Green Bay Education Association, which represents about 1,800 Green Bay teachers, signed a two-year contract last year. It's set to expire at the end of June 2013.

The Green Bay Press-Gazette challenged the Green Bay School Board about a closed session held Feb. 29.

School officials cited Wisconsin statute 19.85 (1) (c), which says discussions about individual employees can be conducted in closed session, and statute 19.85 (1) (e), which says boards can meet in closed session if competitive or bargaining reasons require it.

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The meeting notice said only the board met to "discuss handbook issues and options."

"They are not bargaining a specific contract or in any type of negotiation, they are creating policy," said Kendall Harrison, an attorney at Madison-based Godfrey and Kahn law firm. "I don't think there's a reason for them to be in closed session."

But district administrators stand by the decision to meet behind closed doors.

"We consulted our legal counsel and were told it is legally appropriate to hold this discussion in closed session," district spokeswoman Amanda Brooker said in an email to the Press-Gazette. "This discussion entails only recommendations from the administration to the School Board, and are not final drafts of any section or sections of the handbook.

"The adoption of final handbook provisions, including fringe benefits and compensation considerations, will be presented and discussed in open session, and adopted in open session with any changes which emerge as a result of discussions which have occurred in open session."

The board held a subsequent meeting on March 5, which was held in open session. More than 100 teachers attended.

Pulaski says policy debates should be open

The Pulaski School Board has met a handful of times to discuss handbooks, and district leaders also have met with teachers and other employee groups. A draft of the handbook is on the school district's website. A one-year contract is set to end June 30.

"We'd never go into closed session," district Superintendent Mel Lightner said. "It's all public policy and should be debated openly. I do meet with the affected workers to ask their opinion before the board meets, but that is not a meeting of public officials, and no decisions are made at that time.

"I think the changes are good. We're essentially trying to take some of the items from the old contracts that affect workers and insert them into policy handbooks.

"The process gives the board and the public a lot more say. I think it's more public, and I'm not sure that's a bad thing. I'm not sure negotiations ever should have been done in closed session. The public's business should be conducted in open session. When it comes to handbooks, it absolutely should be done in open session."